Isolated Endoscopic Tricuspid Valve Surgery

Isolated tricuspid regurgitation has been increasingly diagnosed amongst the population (1). Intracardiac devices and the prevalence of atrial fibrillation (AF) are now the most common causes of AF (2).

Morbidity and mortality from tricuspid regurgitation can be significant (3). However, surgery for isolated tricuspid valve regurgitation is still believed to be under-performed compared to the number of patients diagnosed. This rarity exists despite the clear guidelines to intervene in cases of severe symptomatic tricuspid regurgitation (4). The main reason for this under-performance is the reported high mortality following conventional sternotomy (5). Also, referral for surgery is often delayed until patients develop intractable right-sided heart failure. Recently, a few centers reported endoscopic minimal access tricuspid surgery with better results compared to standard sternotomy (6). In this video, the authors present a single-center experience with this type of surgery and seek to promote more surgical treatment for tricuspid valve pathologies.